The Star at Alfriston Hotel Review – A Luxury Sussex Escape by the Polizzi Collection
The Star at Alfriston is where Sussex does luxury: oak beams, velvet sofas, Michelin-worthy dining and, most importantly, complimentary whisky waiting in your room.
The Star at Alfriston Hotel Review
There are hotel reviews, and then there are pilgrimages. For the Alpine A110 R 70 Tour, we took that feather-light French racer—the automotive equivalent of a bespoke Yves Saint Laurent dinner jacket—and let it loose on the winding backroads of Sussex.
Now, Sussex is not the Alps (despite the Alpine’s name), but the rolling South Downs have their own seductive rhythm. The A110 devoured every undulation with a soprano’s wail and the occasional operatic pop from the exhaust. Trees blurred into a green watercolour, while thatched cottages flickered past like something out of Constable’s sketchbook, albeit enjoyed at slightly indecorous speeds. By the time we rolled into the medieval village of Alfriston, the Alpine had earned its supper—and so had we.
Arrival – Boutique Hotel Luxury in Sussex
Alfriston is one of those villages that feels like a stage set for a BBC adaptation of Middlemarch: timbered houses, narrow lanes, and a churchyard that has doubtless seen more than its fair share of scandal. The main street is scarcely wide enough for a horse and cart, let alone a French race car, so we tucked the Alpine discreetly round the back of The Star at Alfriston.
We hadn’t even extracted ourselves from the carbon-fibre seats when Isaac materialised like a particularly efficient butler in casual clothes, whisking our bags away before we’d unclipped a single harness. Inside, we were greeted by Teresa, the general manager, whose warmth set the tone for the entire stay. Polizzi hotels do this supremely well: you are not processed; you are welcomed, rather as if you’ve come home to the country house you inexplicably don’t yet own.
And then, just when you think you’ve glimpsed all of The Star’s charms, there is the hidden gem: a sun-dappled courtyard terrace tucked behind the old-world inn. It faces the main street with the air of a secret only the locals dare whisper about, offering a quiet corner for a pre-dinner aperitif or a post-drive gin, where the medieval village hums softly around you and you can pretend the A110 is resting in a discreet valet heaven rather than the reality of Sussex traffic. It is exactly the sort of understated luxury that makes one nod in approval and mutter, “Yes, this is exactly the sort of thing one would expect from a country inn that could outwit Time itself."
The Forte Suite – A Literary Hideaway
Our quarters were the Forte Suite, which could easily double as the lair of an eccentric bibliophile. A sitting room with velvet sofa, wraparound floral armchairs, and glass-topped tables gave way to book-lined shelves, wooden sideboards, and art that oscillated delightfully between modern whimsy and leaping hares. The wallpaper—an illustrated woodland—was less “hotel design” and more “enchanted copse from an English fairytale.”
Everywhere, there were books. Books on the desk, books on the shelves, books on the mysterious chair-made-of-books in the hallway, a twin to the legendary Much Ado bookshop next door. One almost expected Virginia Woolf to appear with a notebook and a slightly exasperated look.
The bedroom itself offered a vast double bed framed by wardrobes so deep they might have harboured evacuees. The bathroom, all cream slatted wood and polished fittings, housed a bathtub generous enough for two and a power shower with its own marble perch, which I assume is intended for reflection rather than performance art.
And then came one of those touches that separates the Polizzi Collection from the rest: in-room complimentary gin and whisky decanters. No dreary mini-bottles with scandalous price tags—proper cut-glass decanters, free for guests to enjoy in the privacy of their room. A civilised nod to a golden age of hospitality, before accountants began ruining everything.
Everything gleamed as if it had been painted yesterday—which, knowing the Polizzis, it probably had. Here was the great paradox: a hotel that looked authentically “olde worlde” yet was in reality brand-new, every detail immaculate, every lamp working, every carpet pristine. No frayed armchairs or dubious plumbing here; this was English heritage reimagined for the modern luxury traveller.
The Polizzi Touch – A Family Dynasty of Hospitality
The Star is part of the Polizzi Collection, curated by Olga Polizzi and her daughter Alex—names that resonate like a roll call of hotel nobility. Olga, of course, is the daughter of Lord Forte and sister to Sir Rocco Forte, while Alex needs little introduction as the sharp-eyed host of The Hotel Inspector on Channel 5. Between them, they have distilled generations of hospitality savoir-faire into this boutique Sussex inn.
Their 2021 renovation of The Star was nothing short of heroic, chronicled in the Channel 5 documentary My Hotel Nightmare. One can only imagine the stress of renovating a 15th-century coaching inn in the middle of a global pandemic, but then, if anyone was going to make it look effortless, it would be the Polizzis.
Dinner at The Star – Fine Dining in Alfriston
The restaurant is a symphony of oak beams, houndstooth sofas, and candlelit tables dressed in marble. A grand wine rack dominates the room, as if to remind you that abstinence is a sin best left to Puritans.
We began with Rathfinney Blanc de Noirs—a Sussex sparkling wine with enough gravitas to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Champagne—alongside the house Star mocktail of orange, cranberry, lime, and sparkling water. Madame, in a contrarian mood, opted for a floral Viognier from Château Val Joanis in the Luberon.
Starters: a silken buffalo burrata with beetroot for her, and hot-smoked salmon for me, which arrived like a Michelangelo fresco in fish form. Mains followed with a perfectly judged duck with mash and spinach, while the fillet of halibut with new potatoes proved that restraint can be a form of luxury.
Desserts? A dark chocolate fondant so rich it should have been means-tested, alongside mint choc chip and honeycomb ice creams that had the good manners to be both nostalgic and decadent.
Our Italian waiter, complete with white gloves, embodied old-school elegance, while the young waitress radiated warmth and efficiency. To close the evening, we were presented with chilled limoncello—the perfect digestif after a meal of balance and grace.
Breakfast – A Sussex Morning of Luxury
Breakfast at The Star is an Anglo-Continental love affair. The pastries alone would make a Parisian weep with envy, while bowls of fresh fruit seemed determined to prove that one can indeed fit an entire orchard into a dining room. The blueberries were, without exaggeration, the largest I have ever encountered—clearly the Arnold Schwarzeneggers of the berry world.
Smoked salmon with scrambled eggs, avocado with poached eggs, all accompanied by glorious Cacklebean eggs, completed the morning ritual. One left the table convinced that Sussex could challenge Provence in the breakfast stakes, if only the French would concede.
Alfriston – A Village of Books, Charm, and History
To stay at The Star is to step directly into the soul of Alfriston. The Much Ado bookshop, with its labyrinth of rooms, rare volumes, and the heady perfume of old paper, is nothing less than a sanctuary for bibliophiles. Outside, a pergola and book shed invite you to linger with a glass of something civilised. Furniture shaped like books abounds—a reminder that, in Alfriston, literature is not merely read, it is lived.
Next door, Objets Trouvés provides the decorative flourishes that make The Star so distinctive. Every lamp, chair, and sculpture feels as though it has a story, and probably a scandal, attached. This is what elevates The Star above the cookie-cutter “luxury” chains: it has a sense of place, a rootedness in local culture, that cannot be fabricated.
Sussex Adventures – Beyond the Inn
The South Downs National Park unfurls on the doorstep, offering walking trails, cycling routes, and—if you share my penchant for aerial thrills—paragliding above the Sussex hills. For those who prefer a more sedate approach, there’s Glyndebourne opera nearby, Rathfinney wine estate, and a scattering of historic churches that remind one England was once far more pious and far less concerned with Instagram.
A Quintessential English Luxury Hotel
The Star at Alfriston manages to be both luxurious and completely natural. It is elegant without pretension, historical without stuffiness, and modern without banality. Above all, it is welcoming.
Alex and Olga Polizzi have created more than just a hotel—they’ve orchestrated an experience, a living tableau of English culture, books, art, and hospitality. Every detail is deliberate, every smile genuine, and every corner hides a story waiting to be discovered.
If you seek the quintessential English countryside luxury escape—where ancient beams meet velvet sofas, where books spill across shelves and chairs alike, and where the staff greet you as if you’ve come home—then The Star at Alfriston awaits. Bring a hunger for fine food, a love of literature, and perhaps, just perhaps, an Alpine A110 for the road down.
À bientôt, Sussex.
